Category: soups

This is part 2 of my winter soup series. This hearty soup comes from the Catalonian region of Spain. I ended up adding more of the liquid from the cooked chickpeas . So you may want to reserve about 2 cups of the liquid instead of 1 cup. If you want to add grated cheese, I would recommend a Manchego cheese.

Share this:

Like this:

This winter squash, potato, pear and chickpea stew was even better the next day. You might have to cook the chickpeas a little longer and I would taste for salt. It didn’t say to add salt to the stew in the recipe but, I thought it needed it. It is a wonderful protein-rich, and no meat stew. Adapted from Rustic Spanish by Paul Richardson.

Directions

Drain the chickpeas. In a stockpot, combine the chickpeas, 3 quarts of cold water and the bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a medium-low and simmer for 45 minutes until the chickpeas are tender.

Add the potatoes and squash and cook another 15 minutes.

Add the pears and green beans and cook till tender, 4-6 more minutes.

Meanwhile make the sofrito. In a frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and saute for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 more minutes. Add the tomato, cumin, 1 teaspoon of salt and the pimenton. Mix well, lower the heat and cook for another few minutes. Add the sofrito to the soup.

Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the flavors have mingled and the chickpeas are completely soft. Salt to taste.

Remove from heat and cover. Let it sit for about 10 minutes. Stir in the mint leaves and serve.

Save

Save

Advertisements

Share this:

Like this:

This took a little bit of time to make, but it was worth it. If you don’t have a food mill, use a sifter. Make sure you press it to get all the liquid. Serve with crusty bread. Adapted from Fresh Fish by Jennifer Trainer Thompson.

Directions

Reserve 16 whole shrimp and coarsely chop the remaining.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large soup pot over high heat. Season the chopped shrimp with salt and black pepper, add to the pot. Cook until just opaque. Remove to a bowl and set aside. Add remaining oil to the pan and add the shrimp shells and stir occasionally till the shells begin to brown. Take the pot off the heat and pour the 1/4 cup of bourbon into the pot. Carefully ignite the bourbon with a long kitchen match or stick flame. Let it burn till the flame subsides and the alcohol is burned off. Return the pot to the heat and cook until the liquid has reduced, about 3 minutes. Transfer the shells and liquid to a bowl and set aside.

In the same pot melt 1 tablespoon of butter, over medium heat. Add the celery and fennel and saute until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the onion , leek, and garlic, and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until it begins to coat the bottom of the pan and it’s somewhat carmelized, about 2 minutes. Add the additional 1 tablespoon of butter and melt. Add the flour and cook stirring constantly, to coat the vegetables, about 1 minute. Add the wine and chicken broth and stir to deglaze the pan, scraping up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. Add the water, rice, thyme, bay leaf, and the reserved shrimp shells with its liquid. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a low simmer, and cover. Cook until the rice is tender, about 30 minutes.

When the rice is cooked, remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Push the soup including the shells through a food mill. Discard the solids, and return to a clean pot set over low heat. Stir in the reserved chopped shrimp, cream, and 2 tablespoons of bourbon. Heat through but do not boil.

Melt the remaining butter in a skillet over high heat and saute the 16 reserved shrimp. Add salt and white pepper to taste. Cook for about 3 minutes.

Divide the soup among bowls and garnish with the whole shrimp and chives.

Advertisements

Share this:

Like this:

By adding chorizo to this recipe, chef Einat Admony calls this her “not-so-Jewish” chicken soup. The chorizo gives it a smokey flavor. I did make a couple of adjustments to her recipe. I always start with 8 to 10 cups of water to all my soups especially if I’m serving the soup on the same day, can always add more. I also reduced the amount of salt, I always start with 1 tablespoon and add more to taste. It didn’t say anything about serving the chicken without the bones, I just assumed so. At the end I fished out the chicken and took the meat off the bones and placed the meat back in the soup. Waited a couple of minutes to reheat through.

Directions

Heat the canola oil in large pot over medium heat and add the onions, leeks, celery, and chorizo. Saute for 10 minutes. Add the carrots, bay leaf, thyme, and chicken and saute for another 10 minutes. Add the wine and reduce for another 5 minutes.

Stir in the salt, pepper, cumin and turmeric. Saute for 3 minutes and then add the water. Bring to a boil and add the butternut squash and potatoes. Lower the heat and simmer for 40 minutes.

Fish out the chicken and let it cool to touch for a few minutes. Take the meat off the bones and place the meat back into pot. Wait a couple of minutes before serving so that it heats through.

Share this:

Like this:

This week I’ll be featuring recipes from an Avon cookbook I’ve had since 1983. I haven’t looked at it or a long time, almost forgot that it had some great recipes. This recipe came from Latin America. The ingredients caught my eye, it’s not what I would typically put into meatballs. I did leave the olives out and added water to the soup using the empty can of the condensed tomato soup, for personal taste.

Directions

Separate egg yolks from the egg whites, chop each separately. In a bowl combine the egg yolks, rice, bread crumbs, the 1/4 cup green onion, the 1/4 ripe olives, rosemary, clove, and cinnamon. Add ground pork and meat, mix well. Using 1 1/2 tablespoons meat mixture for each meatball, wrap the mixture into 2 or 3 raisins and shape into a ball.

In a large saucepan combine the beef broth, tomato soup, chili powder and meatballs. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the egg whites. Top with the cheese, additional olives and chopped green onions, if desired.

Share this:

Like this:

This is a very hearty soup from a base of pork, beans and potato. Our weather has been perfect for making soup; cold and rainy. This base can be made and and kept in the freezer for another time. Other vegetables can be added or for those meat lovers, kielbasa and Italian sausage can be added. The recipe is from Lidia Bastianich from her Lidia’s Family Table cookbook. I decided to serve it as is, and only added 10 cups of water instead of her 5 quarts and I still had some leftover to freeze. You do have to set time to make this, the beans should be soaked overnight and cooking time can take about 3 hours.

Directions

Drain the soaked beans and put them in a pot with the water, potatoes, bay leaves and the hot pepper flakes. Cover and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile make the pestata using a food processor. Scrape every bit into the soup pot. Rinse the pork in hot water and add to the pot. Bring to a full boil and reduce heat for a gentle boil. Place the cover ajar and cook for about 1 hour and 1/2. The potatoes and beans should be tender. Skim any excess fat off the top.

Meanwhile make the sofrito. Heat the oil in a small skillet and cook the onions over medium heat for abut 6 minutes, till tender. Crush the tomatoes in your hand and add to the onion with it’s juices. Sir in the salt and simmer rapidly till some of the juices have reduced. Add to the soup pot when the beans and potatoes are tender.

Cook the soup for another 1 hour and 1/2, stirring occasionally. If it’s sticking to bottom lower the heat. Take out the pork and shred the meat off the bone and add to the soup. Fish out the bay leaves and taste for seasoning before serving.